Heavily soiled wares can require multiple cleaning steps to remove the soils from the surfaces of the wares. Pots and pans used for prepping, cooking, and baking ware in full service restaurants can be particularly difficult to clean in a dishmachine due to the caramelized soil baked on to the surface of the ware. Some full service restaurants have attempted to overcome this issue by using, as a pre-step to washing the pots and pans in the dishmachine, a 3-compartment sink for soaking the pots and pans. Exemplary soaking solutions include water, pot and pan detergent solutions, or silverware presoaks. While these presoaks do loosen the greasy, caramelized soils from the ware such that the soils are more easily removed once the pots or pans are washed in the dishmachine, more than one wash is still typically required to completely clean the ware even with this extra soaking step.
Washing pots and pans in the dishmachine can also lead to ware compatibility issues. Most dishmachine detergents are highly alkaline and may corrode or discolor metals, such as aluminum, when introduced into the dishmachine. Water and pot and pan detergents can also lead to discoloration of aluminum if the soaking occurs for a long period of time at higher temperatures. Also, when ware is soaked in a solution and then removed and placed into the dishmachine, a small quantity of the soaking solution is typically carried with the ware into the dishmachine. This can cause compatibility issues because components in the soaking composition may effect the cleaning process in the dishmachine. For example, if the detergent is carried over in significant quantities into the dishmachine sump, the components can lead to foaming in the dishmachine and pump.
A one-pass warewashing process would reduce the amount of water, electricity, and detergent required.